Machine for stitching books.



MEARS & B. B. WEST. MACHINE FOR STITCHING BOOKS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 8. 1911.

Patented Sept. 7,

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1111mm /2 I MilNlllHli c. w. MEARS & B. B. WEST.

MACHINE FOR STITCHING BOOKS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 8. 1911.

PatentedSept. 7, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

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C. W. MEARS & B. B. WEST MACHINE FOR STITCHING BOOKS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 8. i911.

Patented Sept. 7, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

I fizz/522247117, wan/q mamas h CHARLES W. MEARS AND BRENNAN B. WEST, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO; SAID WEST ASSIGNOR. TO SAID HEARS.

MACHINE FOR STITCI-IING Books.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patentedsept. 7,1915.

Application filed December 8, 1911.' Serial No. 664,635.

To all whom it mag concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES W. Means and BRENNAN B. WV'Es'r, both of us residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of -Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Machines for Stitching Books, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to.a machine for stitching books whereby wire staples can be inserted whose length after the legs have been bent into place is slightly greater than; the thickness of the back of the book, thus allowing a certain movement between the adj acent. leaves.

In the co-pendlng application filed Oct.

' 17, 1911, Ser. No. 655,178 by Charles W.

Mears is disclosed and claimed a book formed of leaves which have been provided with a. hinge portion adjacent to the rear edge thereof and which have been subsequently secured together with long staples inserted through the portions of these leaves at, the'rear of the hinge portion.

It; is,- our'-expectation that the machin which forms the subject of this invention will find its widestuse in connection with books the leaves of which have been treated in this manner, but it is obvious that the machine couldbe employed for attaching sta ples of the kind described into any form of book orpad of paper which mlght bedesired without reference to the breakingof the leaves as described in thatapplication.

The object of the invention is to prov de a machine which shall be fitted to accompllsh the application of staples in the manner described and Without undue complexity of structure or 'delay in opertion; the provision of, a machine of this character which can be operated without requiring any greater skill orattention on the part of the operator than machinesyof the nature now in use, and which shall not be liable .to get out of order even in the hands of inexpert operators,

and especially to provide mechanism which can be app ied to existing machines to cause them toefi'ect the purposein view without requiring an excessive change in the construction of the machine as now produced;

- and further, objects and advantages of the invention as will become apparent in the course of the following descript on.

Generally speaking our lnventlon may be defined! as consisting of the-parts and ele.

mentsrecited in the claims annexed-heretoand llustrated in the drawings accompanyform of work table provided with means.

adapted to be inserted betwen the clenched ends of thestaple and the surface of the paper, a portion of a stitcher head of standard construction being shown in elevation;

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional viewtaken along the broken line 5-5 of Fig. 4-; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the spacing plate and its cooperating parts together with certain of the mechanism for operating the same; Fig. 7 is a perspective View of a portion of a book made in accordance with my invention and stapled by either of the machines heretofore mentioned; Fig. 8 is an elevation of a portion of the back of a book stapled by means of 'the mechanism illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive; Flg. 9 is a similar view of the back portion-of a book stapled by-means of the mechanism illustrated in Figs. 4 to 6 inclusive; .Fig. 10 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a portion of a stitcher head, one of the members of which is modified according to another expedient so as to limit the insertion of the staple; Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a portion of the vertically slidable supporter-carrying block shown in Fig. 10,

one half of the block being broken away so as to illustrate the method of imparting the desired motion to the supporter; Fig. 12

is a vertical cross-sectional view taken through the supporter shown in Fig. 10;

Fig. 13 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken along the line 1313 of Fig. 10; Fig.

14 is a" bottom view of the supporter illus- I trated in Fig. 12; and Fig. 15 illustrates still another expedient by means of which the insertion of a staplemay be limited.

In general it will be observed that the re sult in view can be attained either by limiting the insertion of the staple to a point flit short of complete seating, or byinterpo'sing a spacing member between the staple and book, or by clenching the-staple around a spacing member which is afterward withdrawn, the staple being inthe last case completely inserted. The insertion'ofthe staple can be limited either by a separate spacing member which is withdrawn immediately after the completion of the stitch as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, or bythe provision of a spacing member upon the staple supporter together withmeans for actuating said supporter after the application of the staple so as to withdraw said spacing member as illustrated in Figs. 10 to 14 inclusive, or by simply limiting the movement of thedriver to a point short of the surface of the book or signature as illustrated in Fig. .15. clenched portions around a spacing member, and the subsequent Withdrawal of the spacing member requires a part which is separate from any part now present on any stitcher sofar as we are aware, and the formation ofthis part and the method of operating the same may be very widely varied, although the embodiment illustrated in-Figs. 4 to 6 inclusive will illustrate the general idea.

Describing the parts by reference characters l-represents the standard of a conventional type of stitcher. The upper end -.of this standard is formed with a' horizontal arm 2 provided at its forward end with a vertical plate 3 in which is journaled a horizontal drive shaft 4 having at its outer end a loose pulley 5 adapted to be connected with the shaft by means of a clutch 6 actuatable by a pedal 7 so as to impart to said shaft a single rotation at each depression thereof. Vertically reciprocablein a suitable guide way carried by the plate 3 beneath the shaft 4' is a former 8, having its low-er end provided with .a parallel-sided vertical notch -9, whose width is substantially equal to the width of the staple to be applied; and horizontally slidable in a guideway normal to the guideway' of the former is a shank'10 having at its forward end the anvil 11. The head of this anvil is of double-wedge shape, as shown in Figs. 3 and 10, and is formed at the apex with a'horizont'al groove 12. The forward face of the former 8 is formed with a vertical guideway 15 in which isreciprocably mounted a driver 16, said driver being formedwitlrla tera'l tongues, (not shown) received in vertical grooves 17- formed in the -crown of the staple;

spring 19 and pin 20, the anvil head 11 is sides of the guideway 15'. The width of the normally maintained in such position that The forming of the.

the bottom of its slot 12 will lie exactly in the path of the slot 18 of the plunger, and in this position, said slot 12 registers with a suitable aperture (not shown) in the side of the stitcher head through which wire is fed from a spool 21. The stitcher head also carries a pivoted arm 22 having thereon a gripper member 23 and adapted to be moved forward at stated times to grip the wire and advance it into the notch'12 of the anvil.

. In its most usual form, the end of the shaft 4 is provided with a rotatable member 25 having a cam slot 26 shaped to impart ing pivoted to its face within said groove a link 27 adapted to impart the proper movement to the driver 16, the cam slot and link being so arranged as to operate these parts in proper phase. The exterior face of the member 25 is shaped so as to actuate the Secured to the lever 22 at proper intervals.

-the proper motion to the former 8, and havplate 3' forward of the driver 16 is a fixed block 30 having upon its inner face a vertical guide-way 31, and slidable inthis guide way is the supporter block 32 having the approximately triangular supporter33 pivoted to the'lower end thereof. A bracket 35 secured to the block 30 carries a guide bar 36 by means of which the supporter is steadied, and a spring 37 whereby it is pressed against the driver. Theblock 32 is provided with a pin 38 projecting through an elongated opening in the driver and into a slot 39 in the former.

Below the arm 2 is a second arm or bracket been adjusted to the proper height and the treadle 70 pressed, the arm 22 is actuated so as to advance the proper len thof wire into the, slot 12 of the anvil hea this wire is severed by a suitable'knife (not shown) the former 8 is depressed so as to bond downwardly the ends of the wire strand which will now lie in the grooves 17 and project downwardly toward the book, the middle portion thereof being still detained within the slot 12; and thedriver 16 then depressed so as to. wedge the anvil out of the way and transfer the wire staple from the groove 12 to the groove 18. ,The staple is prevented from falling out of the groove 18 by the supporter 33 which closes the opemngthereof, though its peculiar shape causes it to be wedged aside by the downwardly moving driver so as not to interfere with the operation of the machine. It will be noted that the depression of the former- 8 has permitted the supporter block 32 to fall until the supporter 33 has reached the surface of the book so that the supporter is in a position to cotiperate with the driver .until the staple has been completely insert- '10 old and well known and are of constant use in the arts, butwe have deemed it essential to describe the operation thereof thus in detail in order to render intelligible the'adaption of'our improvements thereto, one emc'al arm 50 and a comparatively short hOI'lr' zontalarm 51; The pivots areshown at 52 and are placed in the same vertical plane as the guideway 31 and in substantially the I same horizontal plane as the pin 38. The

arms 51 are connected by means of a cross bar 53extending past the face of the block 30, and the lower ends of the arms 50 are connected "by a plate 54 having at its rearward side a projecting tongue 55, said tongue being of a thickness to space the staple from the book the desired distance and of. a width substantially to fill the staple; A pin 56 serves to limit the rearward movement of the arms 50 to a point which 7 will bring the tongue 55' exactly into the upper surface of the plate 54 instead path .of the driver '16, and a spring 57 tends to hold these arms against these pins. The supporter block-'32 is provided with a pin 58 adapted to, engage the cross bar 53 when the block is raised to its highest point. The

operation of this device is as follows: The height ofthe table 41 is ad usted so that the books to be stitched will fit snugly between the upper surface of the same and the bottom of the plate 54. Upon the beginning ofthe movement which results in the insertion of a staple the wire is advanced as heretofore described and the former depressed.

so as to bend the staple and permit the supporter block to. drop. The spririg 57 draws the arms 50 rearwardly so as to in terpose the tongue 55 into the path of movement of the staple with the result that the supporter 33 Wlll come to rest against the of upon the top of the book. The stitch is now applied in the usual manner excepting. that the staple incloses' the. tongue 55, but the upward movement of the staple former raises the block32and with it the pin 58 which strikes against the cross bar 53 and kicks the arms 50 forwardly Withdrawing the tongue from the staple and freeing the book.

J Bl

In the meantime the lower-ends of the staple have been clenched in the usual or any convenient mannen- Although the method of clenching the staples employed by the preceding embodiment of, my invention is unimportant and although the method of interposing and wlthdrawing a spacing member in the case of the .embodiment now to be described will be largely the-same irrespectiveof the opera tion of the clenching apparatus. we deem it desirable to explain the clenching apparatus rather in detail, especially because of the somewhat intimate connection therewith of the spacing means illustrated in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 hereof. Carried by the-forward end of the-bracket 40 is a vertical sleeve preferably pushed as at 71 and having a vertical post 72 slidable therein carrying at ts upper end a flat topped enlargement 73 to jaw 76 opposite to the fixed jaw. The post 72 is formed with a longitudinal bore 77, the lower end of which is threaded as at 78 for the reception ,of the threaded end 79 of the hub 81 of an adjusting wheel 80, the hub 81 whereof is formed with a circumferentlal groove 82 whereby it may be rotatably but non-translatably' secured in ,the plates 8.383 carried by the lower end of the sleeve 70. The distance between the jaws '75 and 76 is the same as the thickness of the book which is to be stapled thus facilitating the adjustment of the machine.

In the embodiment illustrated herein, the middle portion of the enlargement 73 is hollowed out as at 90,-and securedin this hollow portion are a pair ofjaws 91-91. These aws have meeting portions 92 at their ends which are clamped in close engagement as by screws 93 93, but the middle portion of the jaws is hollowed out as at 9% so as to form when two are assembled a vertical ception of a head 98 formed on the upper end of a reciprocable member 99. In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 hereof, the lower end of this member is provided with internal screw threads of the same pitch as the threads 78 in the post, and meshing with these threads in the threaded end of a rod 100 which is reciprocablv but &

non-rotatablysleeved in the hub 81 and shank 79 of the hand wheel 80. This rodis provided with a swivel 101 which is in turn articulated to a lever 102 actuated at suit able intervals through a link 103 by a cam 104'on the shaft 4. With this construction it will be obvious that the height of the table and of the dies can be changed merely by rotating the handle 80 and without disturbing the method of operation thereof.

- The construction of the clenching mechanism and table so far described is old, but a description thereof is'believed to be essent1a1 to the proper understanding of the operation of the embodiment of our invention now to be described.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5 it will that the table 41 is provided with a slot 110,

and the jaw members 91 with a pair of parallel horizontal guide rods 111111' here shown as formed-upon continuations of the screws 93. rods is a block 112 to the upper face of which is'secured a flat plate 113 having at its forward end a tongue 114, the upper surface of which is preferably substantially flush with thetop of the table 41, the width of which is not greaterthan the inside width of the staple, and the thickness whereof corresponds to the amount of space desired between the clench staple end and'the book.

The jaw members are illustrated in this modification as-depressed below the surface of the table by an amount" substantially lower portion of the part 99 is formel with ably received equal to the thickness of the tongue 114 instead of being substantially flush therewith as in Figs; 1, 2, and 3. A spring 115 tends to hold the block at the extreme end of the guide rod with the tongue 114 out .of register with the dies. The rod 100 appears as before, but the member 99 is made in two parts, the lower 99 being threadedly connected with the rod 100 as before, but having a reduced upper end 99 which is slidin a vertical recess formed in the lower end of the upper part 99. The

a laterally opening vertical slot 120 and the end 99 with a pin 121 projecting into the same, whereby a lost-motion connection is providedibetween these parts, the length of the 'slot 120 and the. position of the pin 121 fbein such as to confine this lost motion within proper limits while keeping the adjacentends of the parts99 and 99 always spaced apart. The upperend of the bore 77 is formed at its upper end with a lateral enlargement 105 just beneath the block 112,

and in this enlargement is mounted aslidable bar 126 preferably having its lower end formed with a collar 127 receiving the reduced end 99 of the member 99 and rigidly secured thereto as by a pin. The upper end of this bar is offset as at 127 and formed with an upwardly projecting wedge head,

be seen Slidably mounted upon these.

the. block 112 being suitably slotted asat 129 for'the reception of this head and provided with a transverse pin 130 against which the wedge portion of the head can bear as shown in Fig; 4. The stitchinghead portion of the machine is the same as the standard head heretofore described and is adjusted andoperated in the usual manner. At a proper interval after the insertion of each staple the rod-100 is raised in the usual manner, but the lost motion between the parts 99 and 99 permits the actuation of the wedge head 128 to advance the block 112 and tongue 114 into operative position'previous to the movement of the part 99 to clench the staples, whereby the staple is clenched aroundthis tongue instead of being bent directly against the book.

As soon as the rod 100 is released the different parts reassume the position shown in Fig. 4. I

In order to prevent the-free ends of the staple from being left where they may become entangled with surrounding objects or lacerate the hands-of a reader, we preferably form the lower surface of the tongue 114 with a groove 135. In the clenching operation the extreme ends of the staples are generally first bent and then the entire le of the staple inclined into place. The note 135 then receives the hooked end ofthe staple, the final result being that shown in Fig. 9 hereof, wherein the different signatures of the ,book are indicated, and the infrom the'fact that the extra length of the do not protrude tothe inconvenience of the reader. Indeed, as soon as the book is made, the tendency of the paper is to expand so as to take advantage of the space allowed it by the staples and this taken in connection with the simple turnin of the leaves in ioo I book. This is not of, particular importance 3 wire staples is almost immediately taken up by the paper so that the ends of the stitches reading tends to bring tie added length of the staples or stitches into the place where the book is open, the book then assuming the form illustrated in Fig. 7, thereof.

In Figs. 10 to 14 inclusive we have illustrated a third modification of the machine whereby the added length of the staples may be obtained. In this embodiment the parts' 2 to 29 inclusive are the, same as those heretofore described. The block 30 however is replaced by a block 30 of exactly the same construction excepting thatthe slot in a portion ofthe face thereof is provided with the shallow uniform recess 144 and with a transverse groove 145 near the heel of the supporter merging with said recess. Mounted in said recess is a flat curved plate 146 having a thickened rib received in the groove 145, said rib being formed with a longitudinal perforation registering with'suitable apertures in the sides of the supporter andreceiving a pivot hinge 147 bymeans of which the plate is secured in place. The heel of the plate is formed with a projection 148 beyond this pivot and the body of the supporter with a socket 149 receiving a spiral spring 150 pressing against said heel, whereby the forward portion of the plate is maintained snuglyagainst the bottom of this re cess. The portion of the recess beneath the heel 148 is beveled away as at 151 so as to permit the heel to move thereinto a predetermined distance against the force of the spring. The forward end of the plate is widened to the same Width as the supporter and formed into a toe portion 152, the top and bottom sides whereof are substantially;

parallel and the length whereof is substantially equal to the thickness of the driver as shown in Fig. 10. The bottom of this toe portion is-preferably formed with a plurality of spaced longitudinal grooves 153. The

sides of the supporter are formed with laterally projecting studs 154154.

The operation of the device is as follows: The action of the machine as a whole is exactly the same-as described in connection with Figs. '1 to 3 with the exception that the supporter 33 in Fig. 1 is forced completely from beneath the driver at the conclusion of each attaching stroke, the lower end of the driver'being advanced clear to 'the surface of the tongue, whereas in the present embodiment the driver is spaced from the paper at the limit of its stroke by ward swing of the same in order'tha't this toe may be removedfrom the staple This means of the toe 152. Tn the embodiment shown in. Fig. 1, the supporter merely swings forward again upon the retraction of the driver, but in the present instance it is necessary to impart an initial -movement in the opposite direction prior to the forresult is efi'ected by means of the boss 142. In the present embodiment the supporter falls from its uppermost position to its lowermost position as before, the studs 154 passing between the boss 142 and the driver 16 until the plate 146 rests upon the surface of the paper when these studs will have passed the lowermost portion of this boss. The downward movement of the driver will now wedge the supporter rearwardly as before, the studs 154 moving about the bottom surface of this boss which is formed for a considerable. distance upon the arc of move caused by the pin 38 thesupporter 33 will be drawn forwardly a suflicient distance to free the too from the staple, the necessary vertical movement of the supporter relative to the toe being permitted by the loose con nection between the plate 146 and the supporter body. As soon as the toe has left. the staple the spring 150 will return the plate 146 to its position within the recess 144, and

as soon as the studs 154 havereached the top of the boss 142 the supporter will again swing rearwardly under the influence of the spring 37 so as to permit a succeeding op-' eration of the machine. In Fig. 15 we have illustrated a still further and yet simpler expedient for performing the same. function, wherein the spacing member is entirely dispensed with. In this embodiment we have illustrated a driver 16 of less length than those usually employed, the driver shown v herein being illustrated in its extreme lowermost position. The supporter 33" terminates abruptly as ;at 170 so that when t e driver is retracted it will be impossible for the tip thereof to catch in the staple. The other parts of this mechanism being the same'as those of the standard machine, a further description thereof is believed to be unnecessary.

While we have necessarily described our 7 invention in detail and illustrated those enibodiments thereof which appear most advantageous at the present time, it is obvious that still other embodiments can be devised, and that many of the advantages thereof can be attained by the use of specifically di fferent mechanism. All of these variations and modifications we consider within the scope of our inventive idea so'far as the same are comprised within the terms of the claims hereto annexed.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is 1. In a device of the character described,

-the combination, with means for supporting a book or signature, of means for driv ing a staple thereinto, means for preventing the bending of said staple during the driving operation, a pivoted member having a spacing projection to be included in said staple when the same has been completely applied, and means operated by the return movement of said bendingpreventing means for withdrawing said projection from said staple.

the combination with means for supporting a book or signature, of means for guiding a staple to said book'or signature, means for driving. said staple thereinto, a spacing member adapted to be interposed between the legs of said staple to space the crown thereof from ,said book, means for maintaining said staple-1n engagement with said driving means during the driving motion thereof, means for returning said maintaining means to initial position, and means actuated by the returning movement of said maintaining means for withdrawing said spacing member from said staple.

3. Ina machinev for stitching books, the

combination, with means for supporting a book or signature, of meansfor guiding a staple to said book or signature, a driver for inserting said staple thereinto, a reciprocable member mounted at one side of said driver and movable in .a direction parallel thereto, apivoted member carried by said reciprocable member and having a spacing tongue, means for maintaining said tongue in a position to be inclosed by said staple during the driving operation, said reciprocable member; being arranged to advance prior to the driving operation so as to move saidpivoted member into contact with said book, means for withdrawing said tongue from said staple after the completion of the driving operation, and means for withdrawing said reciprocable member so as to remove said pivoted member from the book.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination with :means for supporting a book; or signature, of means for guiding a staple to said book or signature, means for driving said staple thereinto, means for.

maintaining said-staple in engagement with said driving means during the driving motion thereof, a spacing member carried by s'giid maintaining means for limiting the in- 'for-driving 'said staple thereinto, a supportingmember for maintaining said staple in engag -lent with said driving member during the driving operation, a toe carried by the end of said supporting member so as to initial rearward motion simultaneously with the retraction of said 'd'riving means, whereby 'said toe is removed from said staple.

6. In a machine for stitching books, the

. combination, with means for supporting a 2. In a device of the character described,

staple to said book or signature, a slotted driver for inserting said staple thereinto, a slidable block mounted at one side of said driver and slidable in a direction parallel thereto, a cam shaped supporting member pivoted to said block and having its cam face extending past the slot on said driver whereby said staple is retained insaid slot during the driving operation and said supporting member simultaneously rwedged to one side, a spacing member attached to said supporting member and adapted to be included in 'said staple when the same has been fully inserted whereby the crown of said staple is spaced from said book, a block slidablymounted parallel to said driver, means for permitting the forward movement of said block and supporter previous to the forward movement of said driver,

means for imparting a reverse movementto said block after the completion of the driving operation, and means for imparting book or signature, of means for guiding a staple to said book or signature, a'slotted driver for insertingsaid staple thereinto, a

slidable block mounted at one side of said driver and slidable in a direction parallel thereto, a cam shaped supporting member pivoted to said block and having its cam face extending past the slot on said driver whereby said staple is retained in said slot during the driving operation and said supporting member simultaneously wedged-to one side, a spacing member yieldingly attached .to said supporting member and adapted to be included in said'staple when the same has been fully inserted whereby the crown of said staple is spaced from said book, a block slidably mounted parallel to said driver, means for imparting a forward movement of said block and supporter previous to the forward movement of said driver, means for imparting a reverse move.-

ment to said blockafter the completion of [the driving operation, and cam means for imparting to said supporter an initial sidewise movement away from said driver whereby said spacing member is withdrawn from said staple.

8. In a machine for stitching books, the

combination, with means for supporting a book or signature, of means for guidlng a staple to said book or signature, a slotted driver for inserting said staple thereint o, a slidable block mounted at one side of said driver and slidable in a direction parallel thereto, a cam shaped supporting member pivoted to said block and having its cam face extending past the slot on said driver whereby said staple is retained in said slot during the driving operation and said sup porting member simultaneously wedged to one side, a pivoted member carried by the machine head and having a tongue, means for maintaining said tongue in a position to be inclosed by said staple during the driving operation, means for permitting the forward movement of said block and supporter in advance of the driving operation, means for Withdrawing said block and supporter at the conclusion of the driving operation, and means actuated by the'return movement of said block for withdrawing said tongue from said staple.

In testimony whereof, We hereunto afiix our signaturesln the presence oftwowitnesses. V J

CHARLES W. MEARS. BRENNAN B. WEST.

Witnesses to Charles W. Mears:

Q. T. BAUCHMAN,

W. J. WARD. 

